


open the future

by doublelion



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Emotional Baggage, Gen, Mild Angst, Nonbinary Summoner | Eclat | Kiran, POV Second Person, inspired by lif's castle / voice lines, it's lif so there had to be some, listen i had to write something for him coming to heroes finally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:27:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22502488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doublelion/pseuds/doublelion
Summary: you weren’t given much time to ponder that, as the summoner spoke up again. “líf, can we talk?”“i told you that we have nothing to discuss.”“you know that’s not true.”
Relationships: Summoner | Eclat | Kiran & Líf
Comments: 3
Kudos: 31





	open the future

this castle was a reflection of your own, and as so, you know every nook and cranny. you know if you go left down this corridor and take another left, it was a faster path to the dining hall then to the right (the right had a small reception room before entering). you know one of the staircases in the southeast wing had a crack on the wall that let in a ray of light at certain hours. you know the library had a nice alcove that was the perfect spot to read at night, because of the giant window that let in enough moonlight to see.

it was a reflection, but it became quickly apparent that it was a different reflection. a _whole_ reflection, polished and pristine, while yours was the shattered shards of a mirror you broke with your own hands.

you were still not used to the lively chatter that thrived in the hallways. you had forgotten how it bounced off the walls, a warmth that your ruins had long since lost.

you didn’t know how to feel on that. or that’s what you told yourself, if it stopped the voice that lingered in the back of your skull.

_if you had visited this castle before the clash, would you have the resolve to kill this world?_

the northwest tower was normally empty. in lighter days, it had been a refuge for you. away from it all, high above. and if this whole reflection was anything like yours, you still had that one spot for yourself. selfish, perhaps. but you already knew that you were very, very selfish.

the sounds of life faded the higher you got, leaving you to your thoughts. it hadn’t been terrible, so far. yes, you could feel the pointed looks of some, but that meant little to you. you did what you thought was right. it was the only option left, no? what else could you have done?

you knew these thoughts will never leave you, as long as you lived some twisted version of life.

the door was oddly open. your mind began to question why before your eyes found the answer, in regal white and gold.

their arms were perched onto the stone, hood up, their back turned to you. if you left now, they probably won’t—

“oh, líf!”

your legs hadn’t moved, only your torso as you were already turning to walk down. how quick of them. “… good day, summoner.”

the two of you hadn’t spoken much. when on the battlefield, you had mostly addressed alfonse. it was easier that way. seeing sharena was painful enough, (could you _really_ kill her a second time?) and you didn’t need a second reminder of your failures.

now? your sentences were kept curt. shooing them off to the others. there was nothing more to be said. ~~right?~~

“what brings you up here? were you looking for me?” they asked innocently, and he could see the corners of their lips turning slightly upward. even they had to know that was painfully optimistic.

“no, no. i… simply thought no one would be here.” your words were truthful, eyes flickering to the stone stars you had just walked up on. a foot began the motion, going down one.

“wait, líf!” their hand flied upward in an attempt to stop you, and it worked. your stance remained steady as they approached, and underneath the hood you could see a glimmer of worry in their eyes. “there’s… plenty of room for the two of us.”

there was, but that wasn’t the point.

“i don’t mind you staying.”

of course they wouldn’t. they never would. you knew that.

your sigh was silent as you finally slid through the doorway and onto the tower proper. it had matched your memories, the landscape shaped just as you remember it. the green of the trees was vivid, the mountains cutting into the skies.

it was a small comfort, that some things stayed the same.

kiran returned to their spot, arms resting as they enjoyed the view. a hand rested on your hip, letting the gentle breeze play with your hair.

you wonder, vaguely, if this is what peace felt like. how long had it been since you tasted it?

you weren’t given much time to ponder that, as the summoner spoke up again. “líf, can we talk?”

“i told you that we have nothing to discuss.”

“you know that’s not true.”

their voice turned softer as they moved to face him, hands grabbing their hood and pulling it down. black hair tumbled onto their shoulders, weary brown eyes peering into his.

“it doesn’t have to be right now, if you’re not ready.”

you no longer had guts, but that didn’t stop the worming feeling coil where your stomach once was. kindness dripped from them, unbearably so. you didn’t deserve this. if kiran held you with disdain, it would be so much easier.

were you ready? will you ever be?

“… what do you want to discuss?”

_just hate me already. i already do._

they went silent for a few moments. “were you friends with… the me in your askr?”

out of the multitude of questions they could ask, you had not been expecting this one. it was such an innocent question as well.

“we trusted each other.” you spoke after a few still seconds, eyes gazing past kiran’s shoulder and to a mountaintop. “the kiran i knew was a good person.” a good person you murdered, like the countless other good people of your land.

they nod, a stray lock swaying. “i don’t know how much… different, me and they are but… i do want to say that i do trust you too.”

“you shouldn’t.” the words came quick to your tongue. “i killed them in the end.”

“you didn’t cut them down yourself… did you?”

“i might as well have.” every death caused by that beating heart, every life harvested by the queen’s cruel scythe. in the end, were you not the root of it?

kiran sighed, hands roaming around their heavy coat. eyebrows furrowed in confusion, before your body froze into place.

sökkvabekkr grew heavy on your hip as your eyes examined breidablik. you knew this one well. hard not to; when you were alone, you would sneak it out of your fur coat to look upon it once more. to remember kinder, simpler days.

they offered it to you, hand outstretched with the black and gold weapon. “… you did a very good job of taking care of this, you know. the polish. not a scratch on it. and honestly, i don’t think i’ll never need two of these.”

a gust of wind rushed between you and them, filling the spaces in between. slowly, your hand gently took hold, fingers mindful. as if it was made of glass, as if it was not a divine weapon.

you let your hands remember the familiar weight (it was infinitely lighter then your blade), letting them recall the fine grooves. your summoner had wielded it with a certain grace for one not versed in weaponry. you hadn’t seen this kiran summon, but you could imagine their movements would line up. the same swing, the same stance as they pulled the trigger.

their smile faded once you handed breidablik back, confusion clouding their features. “it is best to always be prepared for the worst.”

“… i suppose you’re right.” they conceded, but they still had not taken the weapon back. “but is there nothing i can do to convince you?”

“i have no use for it, not anymore.” breidablik was a keepsake of a memory, but there was a living one in front of you.

they didn’t argue with you anymore, calmly taking it back and stowing it away. “líf…”

“… do you truly trust me, kiran?”

“i like to think everyone here was summoned here for a reason. and yes, some of them are… certainly questionable in their morals. i won’t deny that. but hel’s gone. you don’t… have a reason to fight us anymore. at least, as far as i know.”

you didn’t. that endless fight was over now, and now you were in this odd lull of old and new, familiar and alien. you remembered how your castle buzzed with life like this one, but it felt so foreign to finally feel it again. you remembered your friendship with kiran, but to have them try to reignite it felt _wrong_.

you would not be friends. couldn’t. there would always be a distance, and in the spaces in between you would blink and see them crumbled on the floor with that lifeless expression and that will serve as your reminder as to why.

the voice that lingered in the back of your skull spoke up.

_you can trust someone, even if you are not friends. right líf?_

you could. that was thrasir, near the beginning. after the wariness had subsided and you two began to converse. not friends, but you worked together. trusted the other. but thrasir was different. she was in the same position as you, and from there blossomed a friendship that you in your happier days, did not think of. you were glad that you had _someone_ by your side.

“líf?”

you brought yourself back, exhaling. “you did not answer my question.”

“i trust you as much as you trust me.”

you bowed your head slightly, thinking of those implications. that they already knew you trusted them. you trusted your own kiran, and this one held the same heart. for better or for worse.

the fur of your coat fluttered slightly as you turn to face the doorway once more. you took two steps, a hand resting on the frame. “no harm will come to you so long as i am here.”

part of you wondered _what_ you were doing, swearing another oath like this. the last promise fell in shambles, a dead body as its product. they trusted you yes, but did you trust yourself?

even if you didn’t, it was the least you could do for the one you called friend. you would not let the past repeat itself, so long as it haunted your shadow. you did not let mistakes repeat themselves.

as you walked away, you could hear the gentle words of thanks from kiran, the smile in their tone. you could feel a faint blossom of warmth in your hallow chest.

when you got down to the end of the stairs, you finally had a name for it. hope.

**Author's Note:**

> LIF'S FINALLY PLAYABLE and so with inspiration from his castle and voice lines came this. I haven't written anyone like Lif in a while and I think it shows, but he's one of my favorite FEH ocs and one I'll be revisiting. Now if only he had come home. If Only.


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